Interview with Nancy Ingle

It's morning edition on K-R-P-S, Signed Fred Fletcher FIRO. The deadline to register to voting Kansas is Tuesday, October 13th. And this morning we continue our series, Chatting with the candidates. Today we hear from Kansas State Senate candidate in District 13, Democrat Nancy Engel, who's taking on incumbent Republican State Senator Richard Hildebrand. I spoke with Nancy last week in Pittsburgh. I started off by asking her to introduce herself to voters. I'm Nancy Engel, that's Engel with an eye. And I'm a retired attorney. I have been, I was born and raised in Pittsburgh practice law here for several years. And I'm running because I think Southeast Kansas needs a really strong voice in Topeka. We for too long have been ignored or at least overlooked. And Kansas is more than the five big counties or 105 counties. And Southeast Kansas and my district includes forte.

And I plan on taking that message to Topeka. At this point in the interview, Nancy lowers her mask so that she can speak more clearly. And you'll notice her volume gets a little louder. The real issue that pushed me over the edge was the lack of common sense when it comes to Medicaid expansion. And what that could do for Crawford and Cherokee and Chitopa and Fort Scott would be amazing. And the just lack of common sense to even bring it to a vote in the Senate this last session just was too much I had to get involved. Yes, it was all partisan politics. It had nothing to do with the interest of the people. It had totally to do with one or two people's political ambitions. And that is just wrong in my book. And what are some of the other priorities or accomplishments that you hope that you'll have to take care of?

Well, I'm a strong education supporter. I believe that the education we have to provide our children is well-rounded. And it's got to be accessible to all children and not. And we have to have a fair formula so that all children, whatever county they come from, can access the same curriculum as any other child in the state. I think it's personally, I'm an attorney. I believe it's almost a disgrace that the Kansas Supreme Court has to force the legislature to fund the public education system when that's one of their constitutional duties. And to have to spend all of that money in court with attorneys to force them to do something

that they were from the time they raised their hand and took their oath were obligated to do, I think, has to change. And I would support the enforcement of the Gannon decision. Can I mention one other issue? Of course. Our foster care system. We have got to get a handle on that problem. It's been a problem since I was a young assistant county attorney here. And I was assigned to take care of all of the child neglect and abuse cases. It's a problem. And with all the drastic cuts in the funding for human services, we are not doing a good job and we are doing a big disservice to the kids that are put in foster care. And I would support an independent office of child advocacy that could provide that kind of oversight and that kind of professional advice to the state to get a handle on what's going on

with these children that are in foster care. You're not going to door as mean people, shake hands, somebody asks you whether online or in person, what should I vote for you? What's your best pitch for a voter? My idea of being a good senator is someone that represents everyone. I'm not going to represent just Democrats or Independents. I'm going to represent Democrats, Independents and Republicans. And I'm also going to listen to and represent people who don't even go to the polls and vote. They, all of these people deserve the same equal type of representation. And one of the things I promise is that I'm going to listen to you. And if that means having quarterly or however regular town hall meeting, not just in one county, but in all of the regions so that everyone has a chance

to sound off at me and tell me what they like I'm doing. And most, I think sometimes it's more important to hear what people don't like and to listen to them and find out their reasons and take that to heart and re-evaluate what you're doing. Okay, thank you for your time. Okay, thank you. That is the voice of Nancy Engel. She is a candidate in District 13 for the Kansas State Senate. You can find out more about her campaign at her website, Nancy Engel, for state-centered.com. Her campaign is also on Facebook. You can hear the extended interview with Nancy at our news blog at krpsnews.com. I also wanted to note that I've reached out to current District 13 state senator Richard Hildebrand for an interview and I have not heard back.